The abandonment and burial of Gobekli Tepe around 10.8 kya coincides precisely with the transition between the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and PPNB periods in the Near East. There seem to be several parallels between the Gobekli Tepe site and the nearby Natufian culture in the Levant. There were radical changes in the Natufian culture clearly recorded in the archaeological record at this time. I will propose that the culture of Gobekli Tepe may have experienced this same cultural revolution as the Natufians.
The Natufian culture in the Levant spanned this PPNA-PPNB transition after first appearing around Jordan near 20 kya and spreading northeast to the present Syria/Turkey border by this transition period and probably in direct contact with the Gobekli Tepe culture. Evidence has been found for long distance trade between the Natufians for Anatolian obsidian and Egyptian shellfish, so surely they were aware of nearby Golbeki Tepe. There is also evidence that Anatolian wheat strains became hybidized with grain native to the Levant possibly through trade.
The coming of the PPNB period in the Levant and Anatolia showed a radical change in architecture from round or oval structures to rectilinear building designs. By 9kya, rectilinear architecture appeared in Jericho with evidence for the presence of "invaders".
The settlement of Nevali Cori in southeastern Anatolia near Golbekli Tepe started around 8.4 kya. There is clear evidence of wheat agriculture and vulture motifs similar to Gobekli Tepe. However, the architecture there had taken on PPNB rectilinear designs in contrast to the PPNA style round/oval structures at nearby Golbekli Tepe. This seems to suggest a dramatic culture shift at this time.
Also, this period is marked by a geneflow of new people into the Levant, thought to come from eastern Anatolia. The earlier PPNA Natufians showed an abundance of African Y-DNA haplogroup E-Z830 lineage which is the ancestor of the E-M123 which is present in Semitic communities today. They were likely to have been dark-skinned and missing the SLC24A5 and SLC45A2 gene variants of latter light-skinned populations. Despite clear evidence that the ancestors of modern Europeans hybridized with Neandertal populations in Israel, the Natufians were distinctly absent this Neandertal admixture.
The PPNB also is characterized by the first widespread domestication of animals. Domestication of animals spread from eastern Anatolia into the Levant in the PPNB period and replaced the nearly-total agricultural culture of the PPNA.
Another characteristic of the PPNB in the Levante is the extensive use of plaster for structures and ornaments which is thought to have lead to the eventual development of pottery.
Gobekli Tepe was buried and abandoned around 10.8 kya at the start of the PPNB period and likewise the Natufians dispersed from their previous settlements and mixed with other populations around 9.8 kya. The round/oval architecture that characterized the Natufians and Gobekli Tepe was replaced by rectilinear designs. The settlement Nevali Cori built around 8.4 kya showed some cultural ties to Gobekli and yet employed the new rectilinear building architecture. This new architecture reached Jericho by 9 kya coincident with the arrival of invaders.
So there seems to be evidence that the homeland of the Natufians and the Golbekli Tepe culture both experienced dramatic cultural shifts at around the same time. Perhaps this wave of new ideas first reached the Golbeki Tepe region of Anatolia and then continued to spread southwest into the Levante, reversing the earlier migrations of the Natufians out of Jordan towards the general area of Gobekli Tepe. The signs of this cultural revolution are clearly recorded in the archaeological record of the Levant. And while we do not have a clear cultural record in Gobekli Tepe the two regions may have experienced the same cultural revolution with the arrival of new people and new ideas.
Curiously, the early Israelite settlements retained the Natufian-style round architecture and this has been used by archaeologists to distinguish their settlements from other Canaanite settlements where the rectilinear building style was prevalent.
Hope you find this study interesting.
Andy
The Natufian culture in the Levant spanned this PPNA-PPNB transition after first appearing around Jordan near 20 kya and spreading northeast to the present Syria/Turkey border by this transition period and probably in direct contact with the Gobekli Tepe culture. Evidence has been found for long distance trade between the Natufians for Anatolian obsidian and Egyptian shellfish, so surely they were aware of nearby Golbeki Tepe. There is also evidence that Anatolian wheat strains became hybidized with grain native to the Levant possibly through trade.
The coming of the PPNB period in the Levant and Anatolia showed a radical change in architecture from round or oval structures to rectilinear building designs. By 9kya, rectilinear architecture appeared in Jericho with evidence for the presence of "invaders".
The settlement of Nevali Cori in southeastern Anatolia near Golbekli Tepe started around 8.4 kya. There is clear evidence of wheat agriculture and vulture motifs similar to Gobekli Tepe. However, the architecture there had taken on PPNB rectilinear designs in contrast to the PPNA style round/oval structures at nearby Golbekli Tepe. This seems to suggest a dramatic culture shift at this time.
Also, this period is marked by a geneflow of new people into the Levant, thought to come from eastern Anatolia. The earlier PPNA Natufians showed an abundance of African Y-DNA haplogroup E-Z830 lineage which is the ancestor of the E-M123 which is present in Semitic communities today. They were likely to have been dark-skinned and missing the SLC24A5 and SLC45A2 gene variants of latter light-skinned populations. Despite clear evidence that the ancestors of modern Europeans hybridized with Neandertal populations in Israel, the Natufians were distinctly absent this Neandertal admixture.
The PPNB also is characterized by the first widespread domestication of animals. Domestication of animals spread from eastern Anatolia into the Levant in the PPNB period and replaced the nearly-total agricultural culture of the PPNA.
Another characteristic of the PPNB in the Levante is the extensive use of plaster for structures and ornaments which is thought to have lead to the eventual development of pottery.
Gobekli Tepe was buried and abandoned around 10.8 kya at the start of the PPNB period and likewise the Natufians dispersed from their previous settlements and mixed with other populations around 9.8 kya. The round/oval architecture that characterized the Natufians and Gobekli Tepe was replaced by rectilinear designs. The settlement Nevali Cori built around 8.4 kya showed some cultural ties to Gobekli and yet employed the new rectilinear building architecture. This new architecture reached Jericho by 9 kya coincident with the arrival of invaders.
So there seems to be evidence that the homeland of the Natufians and the Golbekli Tepe culture both experienced dramatic cultural shifts at around the same time. Perhaps this wave of new ideas first reached the Golbeki Tepe region of Anatolia and then continued to spread southwest into the Levante, reversing the earlier migrations of the Natufians out of Jordan towards the general area of Gobekli Tepe. The signs of this cultural revolution are clearly recorded in the archaeological record of the Levant. And while we do not have a clear cultural record in Gobekli Tepe the two regions may have experienced the same cultural revolution with the arrival of new people and new ideas.
Curiously, the early Israelite settlements retained the Natufian-style round architecture and this has been used by archaeologists to distinguish their settlements from other Canaanite settlements where the rectilinear building style was prevalent.
Hope you find this study interesting.
Andy